


Picking Up the Pieces

by girlnamedlance



Series: Getting To Know Us [4]
Category: Kamen Rider W (Double)
Genre: Gen, Half-Boiled, Moving On, hard-boiled
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-24
Updated: 2014-10-23
Packaged: 2018-02-06 02:39:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1841269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlnamedlance/pseuds/girlnamedlance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Picking up the pieces after Begins Night, Shotaro has a kid in the office that knows everything, but not a bit of it is about himself. Not to mention the huge shoes he now needs to fill.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Day

Somehow, Shotaro had gotten them home safe. He didn’t remember the boat ride back to the mainland or the motorcycle trip back to the Agency. If anyone in the neighborhood saw him and the kid in the white pajamas, he was too physically and emotionally exhausted to care. Philip did well hanging onto his back, all things considered. Even if he needed help getting on and off. 

Shotaro had only fleeting memories of what the woman he found in the basement, behind the door the Boss had told him explicitly to never open, covered in bandages, had to tell him. What he’d told her, though she’d seen Sokichi’s death written on the hat he wore and in his demeanor. “This is his home now,” she told him. “This is no longer mine.” She’d gathered a few things and left through the hangar doors on a motorcycle of her own.

Shotaro woke up the next afternoon in one of the red leather chairs near the entrance to the Agency. Somehow in everything that had gone on, he hadn’t closed the front door all the way. He fixed that, and stretched tall and long like a cat. He felt 20 years older than he had the day before. He eyed the coffee maker across the office. Yes, coffee was a good start. Something to do to keep from thinking too much. He had to take over for the Boss now. Pick up his cases. No one else could. 

“What is this place?” He was in the middle of scooping out grounds when the voice behind him made him jump. He dropped the scoop and brown grains scattered over the counter and the floor. This was another issue no one else could address. The Child of Fate, the kid with all the world’s knowledge in his brain. 

He didn’t react much, except with a bit of confusion at Shotaro’s reaction. He didn’t put any words to it, but his head tipped, leveling an impassive gaze at him. He was still wearing those white pajamas, covered in dirt and soot and whatever the spray of the ocean had deposited on him. Shotaro looked down at himself. He still looked like hell warmed over too.

“This is the Narumi Detective Agency,” Shotaro started, without much conviction in his voice. He went back to starting the coffee while he spoke. He’d clean up the mess once he got the water started. “Head Detective, formerly Sokichi Narumi.” He opened his arms, as though presenting himself to his new charge. “Now, Shotaro Hidari.” He shrugged. This was beginning to feel like a more and more daunting task as the minutes progressed. His arms dropped to his sides with a smack against his shorts. 

“Shotaro Hidari…” the boy repeated, raising his fingers to his lips, and his gaze trailing off to one side. There were clearly gears turning in that genius brain of his, but to what end, Shotaro had no idea. And he didn’t really have the energy to consider it. He decided to let him come at him with whatever questions he had as they came. In the meantime, he set to cleaning up the mess. 

He was nearly done when he finally spoke up again. “Shotaro Hidari. Age 20. Former apprentice to Sokichi Narumi--” he started to rattle off. Shotaro looked back at him to see his arms spread and eyes closed. 

“Oi, what the hell are you doing? How do you know that?” The spike of anger felt alien, as faint as it was against the general numbness of the day.

“I have all the information about the Earth and everything on it in my brain. Including you. I already looked up everything there is to know about Sokichi Narumi. I was missing the keywords necessary to do the same about you.”

He didn’t know why that pissed him off so much, but the next thing he knew he was grabbing this kid by his shirt again. “Don’t do that! People are people! They’re not just things to be looked up like an encyclopedia!”

“Isn’t it the same as learning of an old warlord or prime minister?” the question was asked in earnest. He wasn’t phased at all by Shotaro being rough with him. 

“Not at all!” Shotaro spat back, but his anger lost its potency all at once and he released him. The boy didn’t even bother to smooth his shirt out again. “Just-- just don’t look me up.” He finally said. 

“Very well,” he replied, sounding a bit disappointed. 

By then the coffee was ready. He ignored the remaining grounds that needed cleaning up and poured two cups. He waved him over to the tall table in front of the desk. He decided to drink his black, but he brought the sugar and creamer over for the boy’s sake. He looked at it quizzically, as if he’d never seen it before. Shotaro just watched him for a moment. He inspected the inside of each container closely, before taking an experimental sip of the coffee. He pulled a face. He gave Shotaro a narrow-eyed glare, which lowered down to the mug Shotaro was already happily working on. His gaze returned to the cream and sugar, which he finally started adding to the coffee. Shotaro had to refrain from making a comment along the lines of “Would you like some coffee with your sugar?”

But the silence stood too long. Silence was bad for the goal of not going to pieces. “Do you have a name? Other than the Child of Fate?” Basics. Easy stuff.

It took a moment for him to look up from his endeavor of doctoring up his coffee to answer the question. “Sokichi Narumi gave me the name Philip.”

Shotaro’s eyes got big. “Philip?” he found himself smiling a bit for the first time. Those are some big shoes to make this kid fill, Boss. 

“When did you start making Gaia Memories?” he moved on. If this kid was going to be hanging out here, he may as well try to get some information that might be useful in keeping him safe.

Philip seemed to consider that question intensely. After a few moments, his face scrunched up and he just shook his head. Maybe he was just a bit too stubborn to admit to not remembering anything out loud. 

“You don’t know?” He nodded. “You don’t remember anything other than researching and creating Gaia Memories?” He nodded again. “Nothing about your family before that?”

That got a different kind of reaction. One that even Philip didn’t seem to expect. His eyes got big and he brought his hands to his head. He knocked his coffee cup over onto his arm. He didn’t seem to take notice of the hot liquid on his skin. “Family?” he muttered to himself. 

“Oi!” Shotaro slid off the stool and pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket. He grabbed Philip’s hand and started blotting the coffee off. “It’s okay, you’re safe here,” he said, sounding more self-assured than he had so far. He held the cloth around the soaked spot with one hand, and reached up to push that mop of hair out of Philip’s face. His face was still panicked, and his eyes weren’t looking at anything they were pointed at. “Oi, Philip,” he repeated. He could feel Philip’s balance fail, and he helped him safely to the ground. “Listen to me, you’re at the Narumi Detective Agency, remember?” 

It took a few moments for him to finally stop muttering the word “Family” to himself over and over. “....Narumi?” Finally he seemed to actually see Shotaro when he looked at him.

Shotaro nodded. “That’s right.” Shotaro could feel the boy’s long thin fingers grab tightly onto his arm. This guy couldn’t be all that much younger than him, but he was every inch the spooked child right now. “You okay?”

Philip took a few deep steadying breaths. His eyes flitted around him, as though verifying his surroundings. Finally he nodded. Shotaro started to stand and pulled Philip up with him. Once they were back on their feet again, Shotaro had finally made a decision. He gave Philip the handkerchief to finish drying himself with. He pulled down his sleeved and inspected the slightly pink skin under it, as though he had no idea where it came from. 

Shotaro’s return with a towel, wordlessly offered, got the message across. He took it and started cleaning up the rest of the spilled coffee. 

It was time to go back to basics. Philip needed clothes. He knew the owner of the Windscale downtown owed the Boss a big favor, and he intended to call it in. He dug a bit through the magazines in the lounge area of the office, and finally came up with the most recent catalog. By the time he came back with it, the table was clean and dry. “I’m going to take a shower and go get you some clothes. See if there’s anything you like in there. I’ll find something of mine you can wear for the time being.” And his stomach growled. “I’ll bring back lunch, too.”

With that, Shotaro dug into the drawer Sokichi had allotted him for his own things. He pulled out some pajamas for Philip, and another set of shorts and a shirt for himself. He looked at them for a moment. No, he was the detective now, and it was time to start dressing like it. He’d take care of that too, while he was there. Sokichi’s things would have to go into boxes. But that was a battle for another day. Hard-boiled, Shotaro, just like the Boss.


	2. The First Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are missing children in Fuuto, and the whole case reeks of a Dopant. How will Philip handle his first time seeing the damage the Gaia Memories he made are causing up close and personal?

It wasn’t too long after they’d settled into their new lives together that there was another Dopant case to take care of. Kids were going to one of the local parks and were never seen again. One eyewitness saw a flash of light when a police officer went to investigate. All that remained was her belt that contained her equipment. Including her radio and cell phone.

“Definitely stinks of a Dopant…” Shotaro muttered to himself. The hat still felt a bit out of place on his head. But he reached up to push it down firmly. He had to pick up where the boss left off. He had no choice in the matter, really. Someone had to keep the city from crying.

So, the first stop of course was to the scene of the crime. So to speak. A long temporary wall had been erected around the outside to keep anyone else from wandering in. Shotaro grabbed a stone the size of a ping pong ball and stuck one of Spider Shot’s trackers to it. Once he was sure the cops manning the barricade weren’t looking, he chucked the rock over the wall. He watched the screen on his wrist. Suddenly, the signal was being transmitted to another part of town. He let out a low whistle. “You’re not bad, little guy.”

Of course, there was still the matter of his new partner to consider. They worked flawlessly as Double. It came as naturally as breathing. Synchronization was automatic. Together they were a finely tuned clock. Even after they’d only been together for a week. 

He climbed onto the bike, what had been the boss’s bike. It still seemed heavy. Whether it was because of the size difference between it and his old one or because of the guilt he still felt, and would probably always feel. The same every time he had to lie. “Oh, he had to leave town suddenly. I’m taking over until he gets back. Don’t worry about a thing.” Or when he had to clear the case backlog. “Sorry, you probably already talked to the boss but he didn’t get it into his report yet. Could I ask you some questions?” was an incredibly awkward phone call to make. 

But for now, there were some lost kids to find. He followed the beacon on his wrist to an old daycare. He ignored “Condemned! Keep Out!” signs and climbed the fence. He started snapping pictures of the building and grounds. The windows were boarded, the playground in utter disrepair. How long had this place been closed? Ten years now? 

He started looking for a way in without making too much noise. According to the tracker, the rock he’d tossed was on the second floor, at the back of the building. “There we go!” the back end of the second floor stopped just short of the first, ending instead with a small balcony with a single chair and a small table on it. The view from the balcony overlooked the water, and probably got really nice sunsets. 

“Time to see what else you can do, my eight legged friend,” he said to himself as he raised his arm toward the banister of the balcony. A hook launched from it and wrapped around the rail. It started pulling him up. Once his feet were off the ground, things went wrong. He found himself swinging toward the plaster wall. He managed to keep from both smashing his face and losing his hat. Somehow. “Okay, closer to the wall next time.” He hoped no one saw that.

Once up and over the banister, he could get a good look inside through the glass doors that opened onto the balcony. The next room was a kitchen, and empty. Perhaps the owner lived above the daycare. 

He let himself in. Fortunately, no one thinks to lock upper level balcony doors. Looking at the dishes in the sink, there were definitely a lot of people here. Wrappers from kids’ snacks in the trash can, fresh coffee in the pot. There were definitely people here. He was probably going to need backup. He tried calling Philip, but he didn’t answer. “That research nut…” he muttered to himself. Fine, he’ll use the belt. If this was a Dopant case as he thought, then he was going to need it anyway. “Philip, I need you to look something up for me.”

“Can it wait, Shotaro? I’m in the middle of some mycological research.”

“Some what?” he hissed. Sure they were supposed to be able to communicate telepathically, but he hadn’t quite mastered the art of thinking “at” someone. As weird as it was to be okay with having someone else in his head.

“Fungus commonly known as mushrooms.”

“I’m hot on the trail of those missing kids. I’m at the Cool Breeze Daycare at the waterfront. What information can you get for me?”

After a moment, he acquiesced. “Very well. Beginning lookup.” But he didn’t sound happy about it.

He’d found a blind corner in the kitchen, but it was small. And it also meant that if discovered, he was cornered. He heard a door into the room open and close. Whomever it was, they were whistling a peppy tune as they came in. Shotaro pressed himself into the wall. “Hurry up, partner!” 

“Don’t tell me you’re already inside?”

“S-so what if I am?!” Okay, that was a little too loud. The whistling stopped. 

“Jeez…. The Cool Breeze Daycare is owned by Sayaka Mori aged 37. She had to close it ten years ago due to the illness of her husband Kyousuke Mori aged 45. He died of his illness four days ago.” 

The day before the first kid went missing. Someone was trying to fill a gap in their life. He felt for her, he probably knew better than most what she was going through right now. But that was no reason to take kids away from their families. 

“Who the hell are you?!” Okay, he was busted. Before him stood a middle aged woman in jeans, a t-shirt, and a brightly colored apron. There were some hints of grey in her dark hair. He hand was reaching into the back pocket of her jeans.

There was no backing down now, Shotaro. “I’m here to get those kids back home!” He knew he had to keep a certain word out of his mouth or else Philip would be useless for a good while. And he didn’t want to be staring down a Dopant with his partner shut down.

“No, they belong here with me! They love it here! They don’t want to go home!” And out came the Nest Gaia Memory. 

“Nest?” Philip muttered in Shotaro’s head. 

But Shotaro was suddenly concerned with a couple of things. One, this was a really bad place for a fight with a monster. Two, he still didn’t know where those kids were. His beacon was in the room she’d just left. 

First things first. He darted toward Sayaka. He grabbed the hand holding the Memory before she could touch it to the port. “Where are those kids?!” he demanded. 

“Glad to be away from families that don’t understand them!”

“Family?” Philip murmured.

Shit, Shotaro thought. This was kind of inevitable, he thought. He tried not to be distracted by the images Philip was being flooded with. It was the same thing every time. Half-remembered people, never any faces. Parents, two older girls, and a young boy walking together. Happy. Pull it together, partner, he thought. You’re not alone.

Meanwhile, he had to buy a little time. She shoved him off of her, toward the door she’d just left. “I guess I’ll see if you’re right,” Shotaro taunted as he headed through it. There was the stone with the beacon on it on the floor against one wall. In this room was a staircase headed downstairs. At the top was a baby gate. This room had a large table in the middle. Clearly meant for group activities, homework, or meals. In one corner was a red backpack one of the kids had been last seen with. 

He headed for the stairs. He knew Sayaka was hot on his heels. “ _Nest_ ,” the memory announced. Shotaro felt his gut drop into his boots at that sound. In his own mind he heard it echo as “ _Taboo._ ” But he wasn’t facing this alone. His hand reached for Joker. “Philip! Snap out of it! I need you!” 

“Shotaro?”

“Yeah! It’s me! Come on!”

“....Right.” He still sounded slightly dazed. A moment later, Cyclone appeared in the driver. He ducked a swipe from the massive bird that now stood before him. Taking his eyes off her to get Joker in its slot only earned him a swat down the stairs. 

But it was Double that crashed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. He’d found the kids. The main floor was entirely a large playroom. Immediately they all ran to the side of the police officer that had disappeared earlier in the day. “Th-that monster?!” Philip was stunned by what he was seeing. Maybe watching the transformation happening right in front of him was different when it was directed in a rage toward them.

“Yeah. That’s what these things can do.”

He didn’t miss that remaining fear he felt in his partner. And he’d be a liar if he didn’t feel similarly. “These kids need us. Let’s go, partner.”

“Right.” 

Shotaro got to his feet. Philip felt a little exhausted, but he was keeping up. He’d have to make this quick. “Who are you?!” the officer demanded. 

“I’m here to help,” Shotaro answered vaguely. “Get those kids out of here!” 

The next blow from the giant bird was enough to knock them through a window, breaking glass and boards alike. Good. There was more space out here anyway. Shotaro was always impressed by the amount of punishment he could take like this. Even with Philip backing him up. He couldn’t imagine taking it on by himself like the Boss had. He hoped he would never have to find out.

Out in the open, a switch to Heat Joker and a Joker Grenade took care of the memory. Sayaka collapsed onto the dirt. In the distance, sirens blared, but were coming closer.

Shotaro reached for the belt to remove the Memories but Philip stopped him. “Shotaro, over there.” 

“Hmm?” he glanced over, and toward him ran the four missing kids, with the police officer striding along behind them. She was smiling. 

“He’s just like one of the heroes on TV!” one boy shouted gleefully. 

Before Shotaro knew it, Double’s legs and hips were completely covered in the hugs of tiny children. “Eeeh? Eeeeh?!” Shotaro suddenly didn’t know what to do. Sure facing down a monster was one thing, but kids were something he had no idea how to deal with.

But one little girl started crying. She was the one that had disappeared first. “Whoa, just a second…” Shotaro carefully crouched in front of her. “No tears now, you’re safe. The police are going to take you back home.” 

“She’s crying…” Philip thought. Fortunately communicating privately was easier this way.

“Yeah. She’s not the first child that’s cried because of the syndicate’s Gaia Memories.” He kept anything accusatory out of his tone. But it was a fact, and hiding the truth wouldn’t do Philip any favors. He remembered one time the Boss left him to protect a young girl, an official’s child that had been threatened if he didn’t cooperate. That night he had taken the beating of his life. There were just too many of those guys in masks. Of course at the time, he’d just thought the masks were a weird gang thing. Now, he knew better. Every time he fell on the ground, it was the girl’s terrified crying that got him back on his feet again. 

He wasn’t sure if Philip could see those memories as keenly as Shotaro felt Philip’s confusion earlier, but he hoped he did. “...I see.”

They hung around until the police arrived. When Shotaro saw Jinno come onto the scene, he knew the kids were in good hands. He decided to duck into an alley to un-transform. The police asking questions could end up bad for Philip. “Wait, Shotaro,” Philip suddenly said.

“What is it?”

“...I don’t want to see that anymore.”

“Children crying?”

“Yes. Because of the Gaia Memories.”

“The only way to do that is to get rid of them.”

He paused for a moment. “So be it.”


End file.
